Obtaining copies of the treating physician’s medical records is certainly essential, but is often inadequate to establish, to the satisfaction of a jury, what type of injury and disability was caused by a car crash. Sometimes there is simply no substitute for having a treating physician come into court and explain, in terms that laymen can understand, the medical details involved in a person’s injury.
But obtaining this testimony can sometimes be a problem. Many physicians are understandably reluctant to take time out of their busy medical practice to attend court proceedings. Other physicians are unhappy with what they perceive to be an abuse of the legal system by some unscrupulous lawyers.
By contrast, the physicians who are hired by insurance companies in injury cases are more than willing to come to court to try to minimize, through their testimony, the significance of the injuries sustained by the injured plaintiff. I am not suggesting that these physicians are always dishonest; rather, I am stating that they accept the job of professional witness when they agree to conduct medical examinations for insurance companies.
For these reasons it is critical, in order to have a level playing field, that the injured person’s physician to testify at trial. Usually a friendly and polite letter from the injured person’s attorney is enough to convince the treating physician to schedule time to meet with the attorney and discuss the client’s case prior to trial. Naturally, physicians are entitled to be compensated fairly for their professional time in coming to court or attending depositions.
In a few rare cases, some physicians simply refuse to cooperate with the litigation process altogether. In such cases, the plaintiff’s attorney can force the physician to court with a subpoena, but this can result in less than desirable testimony on the witness stand. In these rare cases it is sometimes necessary for the plaintiff to seek out an evaluation with a new doctor who is willing to testify in court about his medical findings concerning the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries and disabilities.